Traditional Tuvaluan song structure

The folk Tuvaluan chants are very short poems which are repeated. These chants have strong beat, which the artists would continue by clapping or beating their hands on the ground or a sound container; with the sound increasing as the chant was repeated. While Tuvaluan chants carry a dramatic story the focused chant structure frequently omitted references to key occasions on the story. Gerd Koch defined traditional Tuvaluan chants: as the unique, focused type of the grammatically shortened statement is characteristic of the old, initial poetry of these islanders. There is no meter rhyme or verse, though the text of the chant often emerges to be rhythmical on account of the repetition of lyrics and the fact that the individual stanzas have a similar number of syllables.

An instance of the pre-missionary chant include the following such as Te Foe, te Foe kia atua, which is a fakanau dancing chant from Niutao recorded by Gerd Koch.

source of picture: www.ameliahkrales.com

Te foe, to foe kia atua. Te foe, te foe kia tagata. Pili te foe, manu te foe! E, taku foe! E, taku foe!, which means The Paddle, the paddle of the gods. The paddle, the paddle of men. Take the paddle, seize the paddle! Oh my paddle, Oh my paddle!

It focused dramatic story on the account of men of Niutao who come across a unknown canoe out in the sea. The men call out welcoming  the canoe but the team make an answer. The men of Niutao assume it is a ghostly canoe which that carries the gods, so in fear of imminent disaster the men speedily ride home for the safety of Niutao. When performed the powerful beat of the chant copies the strokes of the men paddling, with the increase in beat in the repetition of the chant providing the dramatic emphasis of the escape from disaster.